August Marks
|last seen = |appearances = 14 Episodes (see below)}} August Marks was the biggest crime boss and drug kingpin in Oakland on the FX original series Sons of Anarchy. Played by American actor Billy Brown, August makes his debut on the episode in the series' fifth season. Formerly Damon Pope's main enforcer and right-hand man, he was a very cold person who had no problem doing what was necessary to get his point across. He states to Jax Teller before a meet with Pope, that he had known Mr. Pope since he was seventeen, showing a long term affiliation to him and complete devotion. He took over Pope's position of power after his boss' demise, and was the tertiary antagonist of Season 5, a supporting character in Season 6 and one of the main antagonists of Season 7. SAMCRO betrayed August when they began a war with the Lin Triads, much to August's disapproval. After killing Bobby Munson in retaliation for Jax going against the Chinese, he was arrested after being framed for the murder of Jonathan Haddem by SAMCRO, before being killed by Jax immediately after his release. Playing a recurring role through the series' fifth, sixth, and seventh seasons, August met his demise in the series' finale episode, , in the series' seventh, and final, season. Personality and appearance August Marks is a muscular African American male. He is often seen wearing a suit. Much like his predecessor Damon Pope, Marks handles his affairs in a professional manner, being more than up to the task of taking over his mentor's criminal enterprise. Like Pope, August has no qualms with personally killing people in order to send a message, such as Laroy Wayne, Darnell, and Bobby Munson. Like Pope, August had a professional level of respect for Jax Teller until he realized he'd been double-crossed. The key difference between Pope and August is that August has no loved ones or anyone close to him. This made him a much more dangerous foe for SAMCRO as there was no-one that could be used as leverage against him. Marks was also shown to be more ambitious than his mentor, as he offered to take over the gunrunning racket as the True IRA's distributor. In the end the only way SAMCRO were able to stop Marks was to undermine his power by having him framed and arrested after leaving a corpse on his property. When Jax Teller came to execute Marks outside the courthouse, Marks showed no visible signs of fear. Biography Background Season 5 Damon Pope charges August with the task of taking care of the One-Niners problem, and he appoints Darnell as the new leader, after they show him that they already dealt with Laroy Wayne for his mistake, and told him that "with great power comes great responsibility". He later orders Darnell to kill Jax Teller, but gives him an empty gun, and when Darnell tries to use it against Jax, it doesn't shoot. Marks then proceeds to kill Darnell for breaking the no guns rule he set for the meet. He set up Darnell to show SAMCRO that Pope was in complete control of the situation. August is later present at Damon Pope's execution of Dawn Trager and despite the horrors his boss committed, still looks at Pope with admiration as he buys ice cream for local children. August is present and aware of the deal Jax makes to hand over Tig Trager to be killed. Later, August watched as Jax arranged for the financial aspects of his deal with Pope were signed in a legally binding contract, something that Pope was hesitant of until August suggested it may not be a bad decision. August fell for Jax's trick as the biker secretly planned to have Pope killed and frame Clay Morrow for his murder. Jax's plan succeeded and August assumed the number one position in their organization after Damon Pope's death. August, furious about his mentor's death and aware of the arrangement that whoever killed Pope would have a five million dollar bounty placed on their head, ordered the hit out for Clay Morrow. However, August suspected that it all seemed too convenient for Jax and assures him that if he discovers that Clay wasn't the one to kill Pope, his vengeance wouldn't stop at one person. Season 6 Soon after, August met with Jax in Oakland, telling him that despite Clay Morrow having been arrested and the hit out for him, August's men in prison couldn't get to Clay since he was in protective custody. He worried that Clay would rat and that would caues problems for not only SAMCRO, but his organization as well. Jax shared his worry and was surprised when August revealed that he still wanted Tig Trager brought to him, wanting to settle the late Damon Pope's vengeance. Jax tried to reason with him, telling him that turning Tig over now was bad for the MC but August, not following Pope's mistake, didn't care and reminded Jax that the status of the motorcycle club wasn't August's problem. When Jax realized he'd need Clay to help get the club out of their deal with the Irish, he made a deal with August to have the black inmates spare Clay. August agreed. Later, after coming to terms with how much of a liability Tig was, Jax sent him to a torture porn warehouse they had busted shortly before. He then contacted August, telling him about his plans to leave the gun business and asked for his assistance if the club got back into the adult entertainment industry. August again agreed to Jax's terms but told him that in payment for both protecting Clay and helping them with their porn industry, he'd need Trager now. Jax gave him the address of the warehouse he'd sent Tig to. That night, August arrived at the warehouse with a couple of men, much to Tig's shock and horror. The next morning, Tig arrived at Jax's house, unscathed, telling him that he bumped into August and that August was looking for Jax. Jax was shocked to find Tig alive, immediately setting up a meeting with August. Jax questioned August on allowing Tig to live, realizing it was a test of loyalty to see if Jax would actually turn Tig over when August asked and he had passed. August then brought up Jax's dream of giving up guns and ignored Jax's claims that the Irish wouldn't budge on not letting him out. August offered to carry the weight once Jax and the Sons backed out and when Jax asked if that was something Pope Industries would be involved in, August assured him that its something Marks Incorporated would, having taken control of the company. He then told Jax that if he got him the Irish gun deal, he'd consider Tig's debt paid. After the Sons told the Irish Kings about their plan to hand over distribution to August, the Irish were insulted and planned to sever their ties to SAMCRO, blowing up their clubhouse in an attempt to kill them all. August arrived at the warehouse a few days later, asking about the problems with the Irish. Jax explained that they weren't very open to the idea of him handling the distribution but said they have a plan and not to worry about it. Jax continued to try and convince the Irish to work with Marks, going so far as to kill Irish King, Galen O'Shay and even members of the Chinese Triad to prove to them that August should be who they give the new distribution of their weapons to. August then arrived personally to meet with the Irish's new head seller, Connor Malone. August laid out a pitch, leaving Connor with half a million dollars in cash to seal the deal. Season 7 Jax met with August to discuss the alliance building between the Chinese and the Mayans against him. He informed him of the current situation and August assured him that as long as they were patient, they'd be able to sort things out. Jax also promised him that he'd wait to the right moment to get revenge for the murder of his wife, which was worrying August. However, Jax had already begun his revenge on Lin and the Chinese, who he believed were responsible and he was going to keep it secret from August. ("Toil and Till"). At the same time, SAMCRO and the One-Niners form an alliance, with the Mayans later joining, to take down Marks and his crew. After discovering this, Marks has his right hand man, Moses Cartwright, kidnap Bobby Munson. Marks has Bobby tortured, gouging out his right eye and cutting off his left fingers, sending them to the club. Jax agrees to give up the leverage he has on Marks in exchange for Bobby. Despite this, Marks executes Bobby at the meeting, telling Jax to never lie to him again. In return, SAMCRO uses the backup leverage they had to have Marks arrested. Prior to committing suicide, Jax shoots and kills Marks on the steps of the court house as he is leaving the jail. This is Jax's final retaliation for him having killed Bobby. Trivia * He is Jax Teller’s final kill (apart from himself). Murders Committed *Laroy Wayne - Dismembered. ("Sovereign") *Darnell - Shot in the head. ("Sovereign") *Bobby Munson - Shot in the head. ("What a Piece of Work is Man") Appearances Category:Characters Category:Recurring characters Category:Antagonists Category:One-Niners Category:Deceased Category:Season 5 Characters Category:Season 6 Characters Category:Season 7 Characters Category:Killed by Jax Teller Category:Killers Category:Business People or Real Estate Developers